Military Life
The challenge Christian Ball confronts daily is to perform the ordinary under far from ordinary conditions. His life is measured by having the strength and willpower to keep moving forward despite adversity. That said, his goal is to become a pilot. "All he said is that he just wanted to walk on a
Style
Joint Base Lewis-McChord calls Lakewood home, so it is very likely one of the areas you've already had the opportunity to explore. It's a diverse community that beholds a variety of pocketed neighborhoods including residential communities, historical buildings, lakes, parks and a slew of strip malls. I could have just
Health
Bill Moore discovered something about playing bongo drums when some friends asked him to play with them. It helped relieve his stress. "By the end of the evening, I said, ‘I don't remember feeling so relaxed,'" Moore said. Moore, a Gulf War veteran in the early 1990s, had been suffering from the Gulf
News
In keeping with its name, Concerned Veterans for America (CVA), is an organization comprised of veterans and military families dedicated to fighting for the freedoms at home that they fought for in uniform. "We want to be honest brokers in the conversation and say we've been there, so we understand," said
News Front
I Corps and Joint Base Lewis-McChord will commemorate Patriots Day with Massing of the Colors integrated into the ceremony Sept. 11. The Massing of the Colors ceremony originated with The Society of the Massing of the Colors, which was organized by distinguished military officers, veterans and civic leaders at the end
Arts
Every year, more than a million people pour into the Washington State Fair (previously the Puyallup Fair) not only as a tradition, but also for the fresh and innovative experiences the fair offers, like this year's feature, Luminasia - described on the fair's website as "an exquisite take on the
Liquid
As the summer months come to a close, we begin to mourn the end of festival season. But fret not - at least not yet - because there are still some festivities to be had. One in particular is geared toward my fellow lovers of the hops. The 5th annual Tacoma
Show And Tell
There was so much potential, so much possibility for success and perhaps even greatness. Then one woman's inexplicably heinous act rent it all asunder. But that's enough about Miley Cyrus' performance at the VMAs. The Attack is the latest film from Lebanese director Ziad Doueiri, adapted from the international best-selling novel
Music
There was an Olympia-based emo-bending indie punk band in the early '90s called Lync. After sporadic recordings on K Records, and only one full-length release, Lync disbanded, leaving frontman Sam Jayne to find another project to pour his burgeoning talent into. Jayne's new solo project, Love As Laughter, emerged in 1996
Critics' Picks
[PSYCH-ROCK] + FRI, AUG. 30 No one ever accused the Night Beats of being a lazy band, and their most recent activity has been no different. With the release of their wild-eyed music video for their song, "The Seven Poison Wonders," off of their upcoming LP, Sonic Bloom, the psych-rockers have
We Recommend
Five Women is every inch a live situation comedy. Its jokes veer from issue to expected social issue. Much of its acting is in expository sitcom style. The first time I saw this script performed was in the Bible Belt, so its impatience with naïve Christianity landed
Stage
Let's get a few questions settled right out of the gate. First, while there are, in fact, five women (and, eventually, one man) in the play Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, they're not actually wearing the same dress. They're wearing five different-sized copies of the same blue dress. Perhaps
Stage
Musical performances during openings at B2 Fine Art Gallery are nothing new, but the gallery is branching out into music in a big way with the first of a two-part series of art celebrating music. "SPIN 1: American Vinyl Exhibition" is the first of two shows with portraits of musicians
News Front
The ROTC Leader Development and Assessment Course (LDAC) - otherwise known as Warrior Forge - will not be returning to Joint Base Lewis-McChord. According to Congressional sources, Cadet Command's LDAC is moving to Fort Knox, Kentucky. ROTC officials did not confirm the report. But the move will happen. The Ranger newspaper first reported
Concert Alert
We list major concerts going on sale this weekend, as well as national touring acts performing in the Puget Sound this week and down the road. SECRET TICKET CODE TM = Ticketmaster, 253.627.TIXS, www.ticketmaster.com TW = TicketsWest, 800.325.SEAT, www.ticketswest.com TWEB = Ticketweb, 866.468.7623, www.ticketweb.com >>> ON SALE NOW Jacqui Naylor Seattle. Sept. 17-18. $22.50
Arts
The year was 1938-1939. The minimum wage was first established. Hitler marched into Austria after signing a sketchbook for Indiana Jones. Elliot Gould was born, as were Frank Langella, Tommy Chong ... and the Lakewood Playhouse. Back then, there were two Lakewood Players: a mid-1950s company history identifies them only as
Food Matters
WINE DINNER Asado (2810 Sixth Ave., Tacoma) will be hosting what's sure to be an exquisite and elegant wine pairing dinner at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept 5. Justin Wylie, winemaker and owner of Walla Wall winery VA Piano Vineyards will be pouring and talking vino. To pair with Asado dishes he
We Recommend
The Tacoma/Pierce County hip-hop community and the Z53 Zulu Nation (Tacoma Chapter) host a Back 2 School Jam Saturday in recognition of education and community. The Z53 Chapter of The Zulu Nation is in its first year of service, and as a new chapter, it is christening its beginning with
We Recommend
Hailing from Bozeman, Mont., Rose Gold make uniquely difficult music to anticipate or describe. What generally starts as sort of the fuzzy, meek alt-rock songs tend to descend into howling madness without much notice. Much of this is due to lead singer and bassist Birdie Bowie. Her voice has a
We Recommend
No one ever accused the Night Beats of being a lazy band, and their most recent activity has been no different. With the release of their wild-eyed music video for their song, "The Seven Poison Wonders," off of their upcoming LP, Sonic Bloom, the psych-rockers have kept themselves very busy.